


the games we play

by 5uwho



Category: VIXX
Genre: Gunplay, M/M, Mafia AU, Violence, actually not pwp, definite dubcon aspects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:52:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12969159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5uwho/pseuds/5uwho
Summary: The world was a game, and every game had its rules. Some were meant to be broken. Some were not. Sleeping with the enemy—a rule that fell under the latter.(Prompt: Hakyeon/Wonshik/Hongbin and Taekwoon/Jaehwan/Sanghyuk work for opposite mafia families)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> fill for vixmas from [here](https://vixxmas.dreamwidth.org/493.html?thread=27373#cmt27373)

The world was a game, and every game had its rules. Some were meant to be broken. Some were not.

Taekwoon bucked upwards into Hakyeon's hand, gasping as Hakyeon's teeth found the crook of his neck, sinking viciously into soft skin and flesh. He dug his nails into Hakyeon's back in retaliation but they barely made a dent in the stiff fabric of his suit jacket. His hand slipped lower, resting briefly at the small of Hakyeon's back before his fingers pushed past the waistband of Hakyeon's pants.

There was no time to react—Taekwoon sucked in a sharp breath of pain, fingers bent backwards, unforgiving metal of the gun he'd been reaching for pressed against his throat.

"Looking for this?" Hakyeon's voice dropped to a low purr as he tipped Taekwoon's chin up with the muzzle of the gun. He hadn't let go of Taekwoon's hand, still twisted behind his back.

"I dare you," Taekwoon said. Hakyeon laughed, trailing the gun down the line of Taekwoon's neck until it pressed against his sternum. It jabbed bruisingly hard against bone, buried beneath arousal as Hakyeon's breath passed wet and hot against the lobe of his ear.

"One day I'll have you suck this off before I fuck you with it over my desk," Hakyeon said. Taekwoon's cock twitched and he swallowed. 

"Who fucks who?" Taekwoon asked, voice calm and steady. His other hand trailed up Hakyeon's arm, his lips curling when Hakyeon did nothing as Taekwoon wrapped his fingers about Hakyeon's wrist. He squeezed, feeling Hakyeon's tendons tighten within his grasp. Taekwoon nipped at the lobe of Hakyeon's ear and was rewarded with a harsh intake of air, passing over his skin still damp with Hakyeon's spit. Taekwoon was met with resistance as he pulled at Hakyeon's wrist—he brought it upward until it rested again against the hollow between his collar bones.

"I dare you," Taekwoon said again.

"You play a dangerous game," Hakyeon said. Laughter lingered in his voice. 

"Shall I flip the safety for you?" Taekwoon asked.

"You're lucky it takes too long to break in a good fuck," Hakyeon said, low and throaty. He pushed the gun hard against Taekwoon's airways, until Taekwoon could see stars forming behind his eyes and he swallowed back a cough he couldn't hide. "What a waste it would be."

"Enjoying your coffee break, Boss?"

Taekwoon's eyes snapped open—he shoved at Hakyeon, but Hakyeon had grabbed Taekwoon's arm, twisted it behind his back, pulled Taekwoon in front of him. The gun was still pressed against Taekwoon's neck—the safety was flicked audibly off.

Jaehwan stood there, gun pointed unwaveringly at the two of them. Neither Hakyeon nor Taekwoon had heard him, and Taekwoon cursed himself for it.

"Didn't know you were the voyeuristic type," Hakyeon said softly in Taekwoon's ear. "Set someone up to watch us, hm?"

Hakyeon's fingers tightened in Taekwoon's hair as he wrenched his head back, gun shoved hard against Taekwoon's airway until there were tears in his eyes as he choked for breath. 

"Nah, just wondering where Boss disappears to all the time. Gotta say this takes sleeping with the enemy to a whole new level," Jaehwan said.

"Jaehwan, fuck off," Taekwoon managed. 

"Be a good boy and listen to your boss," Hakyeon agreed. He lightened his hold on Taekwoon, easing some of the pressure on Taekwoon's airways. The gun was at Taekwoon's temple now; Hakyeon had his arm about Taekwoon's neck in a choke hold. 

"Here's the way I see it," Jaehwan said, far too easy-going for Taekwoon's liking. "You let my boss go, and I don't shoot you. I'm a fucking good shot, won't hit Boss if I don't want to."

"And what if I shoot Taekwoon here, hm?" Hakyeon asked.

"You wouldn't," Jaehwan said. "What'd you say, takes too long to break in a good fuck? Wondering how I know? Check the underside of Boss's belt. Gotta say our team baby had some damn good intuition this time."

"You _bugged_ me?" Taekwoon hissed.

"Has anyone ever told you your subordinate talks too much?" Hakyeon asked Taekwoon. "Not very well heeled, although I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

"Coming from you?" Taekwoon asked. He was answered with a bark of a laugh, and the barrel of a gun pushed harder against the side of his head.

Jaehwan seemed to shrug, although his hands remained steady on the gun. He met Taekwoon's eye. Taekwoon nodded.

There was the crack of gunfire, the heat of a bullet unnervingly close to Taekwoon's head, and a sharp yelp of pain. Taekwoon snatched the gun from Hakyeon's limp hand, sprinting to put distance between the two of them.

Hakyeon laughed drily—blood trickled down the back of Hakyeon's hand.

"Told you I was a good shot," Jaehwan said.

"Should work for us instead," Hakyeon said. His eyes flitted about the space, but he seemed otherwise unperturbed by having two guns trained on him. 

"On your knees, Hakyeon," Taekwoon said.

Hakyeon arched an eyebrow, although he made no other movement. "Really want him to watch, hm?" 

"On your knees," Taekwoon repeated. He glanced at Jaehwan. Jaehwan pulled the trigger, the bullet barely missing Hakyeon's leg.

"Next one will bring you to your knees," Taekwoon said. 

"Will it?" Hakyeon asked. "Hongbin?"

"Hong— _fuck_." Taekwoon swore, snapping about, but not fast enough to stop the newcomer from kicking Jaehwan's gun out of his hand. Jaehwan stared at it, stunned, for a moment too long, and Taekwoon's shot went far wide. Jaehwan went down with a well placed elbow to the head, crumpling like a rag doll.

"Might want to worry about yourself." Hakyeon's voice sounded from right behind him. Taekwoon heard the blow before he registered the blinding pain against his head.

"I want them alive," Hakyeon said softly.

It was the last thing he heard before everything went dark.

Sleeping with the enemy—a rule that fell under the latter.


	2. Chapter 2

Taekwoon came to, struggling instinctively against his bonds before he calmed. His wrists were tied behind him to a pipe that ran the perimeter of what looked to be an unfinished basement with a concrete floor and concrete walls. It was tight, thin, strong. He'd cut through his wrists before he'd break the ties. The pipe was secured well—there was no hope of breaking them short of being one of those fictional characters Jaehwan and Sanghyuk were so fond of. There was a tiny window set high up on the wall, barely above ground, and the light which filtered through was weak. His head throbbed painfully, any movement sending waves of nausea through him. It was wiser to stay still, leaning against the wall the way he'd been left. His legs had been left free—small mercies—and he pulled his knees up to his chest in an unconscious gesture. A quick survey of himself reassured him that other than his head, he'd remained uninjured. 

They hadn't all been so lucky.

" _Jaehwan_!" Taekwoon called out his name as loud as he dared under his breath—it didn't matter. The door opened, and Jaehwan didn't stir.

Taekwoon had to squint as light flooded the room through the open door facing him. Pain spiked through his head. 

"Sleeping beauty's awake," someone said.

Taekwoon forced his eyes open. It was the asshole who'd knocked Jaehwan out—Taekwoon scoured his mind for a name, but nothing came up through the stabbing pain in his head. He wasn't alone—Taekwoon didn't know the other man, not that he'd have any reason to. Him and Hakyeon had made it a point not to get involved with each other's direct subordinates, even if their groups were at perpetual war. There was no Hakyeon.

He looked towards Jaehwan again, ignoring his own headache. His face was heavily bruised, and he'd been bound hand and foot and shoved into what looked like a dog cage, far too small for the full length of his body.

"Him? He didn't come quietly, so we had to rough him up a little," the asshole said. He'd followed Taekwoon's eyes.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it, Hongbin."

Hongbin. Right. The name pinged at him in Hakyeon's voice.

"He fucking shot Hakyeon—"

"While you watched!"

"Well I didn't see you doing anything," Hongbin sniped.

So they'd both been there. Taekwoon couldn't stop a hoarse bark of laughter that he quickly regretted. Drawing their attention back to him. And his head.

He hadn't been in this sort of pain since he'd first met Hakyeon. 

"You weren't expecting Jaehwan to actually shoot," Taekwoon said. He leaned back against the wall, affecting an air of impartial indifference. Hongbin narrowed his eyes at him, and Taekwoon wondered if he should worry about suffering a beating at his hands like Jaehwan clearly had.

"You underestimated him," Taekwoon added.

"You're not in a position to talk," the other man said. He had a deep voice, gruff and bass. 

Part of Taekwoon had wanted to pin the blame on Jaehwan for this mess, but it was looking more and more like Taekwoon had been the one who'd sorely underestimated Hakyeon. They'd both been there. Hakyeon had known. Taekwoon sure as hell hadn't known. Hadn't even known Jaehwan would be there.

Taekwoon didn't bother with a response, just fixed his eyes on the guy until he looked away. Hongbin was still staring at him, and Taekwoon redirected his attention towards him, and was rewarded by an involuntary flinch. He had a list of questions, but no real desire to ask any of them, not when he wasn't sure what the answer would be. So he stared. He was good at that. He doubted Jaehwan was dead—Hakyeon had wanted them both alive, and Taekwoon doubted he'd let one of his lackeys fuck that up. Small mercies.

Hongbin took a step forward, and then another, until he loomed above Taekwoon. Taekwoon could probably trip him, but it wouldn't do any good. He _wanted_ to, part of him was screaming to, but the other part of him, the part of him that'd gotten him to where he was—that part was insisting on control. Anger would get him nowhere.

Taekwoon, if he were to look at Hongbin, would've had to crane his head up. So he didn't.

"For someone with a reputation like yours, you went down easy," Hongbin said. 

"Because he brought a knife to a gun fight."

Taekwoon jerked at the voice, the pipe giving a soft _thump_. His breath caught in his throat when Hakyeon's shadow filled the doorframe.

"Boss!" Both Hongbin and the other man bowed as Hakyeon walked in. Hakyeon waved them off with accustomed dismissal, and Taekwoon watched with some envy as they both stepped back, flanking Hakyeon from behind. They looked menacing. Tall. Well dressed in sharp suits. His two never bowed for him. Pity.

Hakyeon's right hand was wrapped in bandages, and Taekwoon's eyes lingered on it. He wouldn't have use of it for some time, not that it'd help Taekwoon at this moment.

Darkness was tugging at Taekwoon's consciousness. His eyes narrowed at Hakyeon, and he could feel rage building inside of him, something eerily close to betrayal bitter in his throat. Jaehwan was still unmoving, and that sent another surge of anger to choke at his windpipe, much like Hakyeon had choked him earlier in the day. Taekwoon jerked forward, lunging fruitlessly at Hakyeon, blindly forgetting his own predicament for the half second it took to lose his cool. Rope cut painfully into his wrists, his shoulders taking the brunt of his throw as he was yanked back, still held down by the pipe. His vision went momentarily white, nausea rising again as he fell back against the wall.

"What do you mean?" The deeper voice.

"You could open his shirt if you want, Wonsik," Hakyeon said. "Take a look." 

"Fuck off, Hakyeon." Taekwoon's voice was hoarse, raspy in its snarl.

"Now I really want to see," Hakyeon said. Taekwoon didn't bother opening his eyes—he swiped at the guy the moment he was in range, grinning grimly when he went down heavily.

Wonsik. Name to a face. Not that it mattered.

A fist thudded into his chest and Taekwoon doubled over, choking for breath. Hakyeon said something Taekwoon couldn't make out, but he sure as fuck felt the steel of the knife as it slashed down his chest, through his shirt. He was wrenched up and Taekwoon thrashed against the iron grip on his shoulder. His eyes were open, but he couldn't _see_ , and a thin thread of panic was finally making its way into his thoughts. It was only because he'd been punched—his vision would come back as his breath did.

But he knew what Hakyeon wanted to see. A map of ugly bullet wound scars that Taekwoon shouldn't even have survived. Hakyeon's work. 

"They still hurt, don't they?" Hakyeon asked. He was very close, and he was slowly blurring into view.

"How's the hand?" Taekwoon asked. Irritation flashed across Hakyeon's face, but he merely straightened. Wonsik let go of Taekwoon as well and Taekwoon slumped back, barely catching himself to lean back against the wall before he fell entirely.

"That's right, we don't let our debts go unpaid," Hakyeon said, and it was in the voice that always hit Taekwoon straight in the gut. This time, it traced a chill finger down Taekwoon's spine.

"What do you want?" Taekwoon hated himself for how desperate he sounded, but Hakyeon had nodded at Hongbin and Hongbin was walking towards Jaehwan's unconscious form, his gun pulled out.

"We won't kill him," Hakyeon said, glancing over his shoulder at Jaehwan.

Fear ran through Taekwoon, paralysing in his helplessness. 

"Hakyeon! _What do you want from me?_ Why did you..." _betray me._ Taekwoon trailed off. It was fucking absurd. They'd never had any reason to trust each other. Their first meeting had ended with Taekwoon bleeding out in an unfinished development. Taekwoon had never thought he'd trusted easily, but he'd thought that Hakyeon...

"Betray you?"

Taekwoon startled as Hakyeon seemed to read his mind. 

"You've always been easy to read," Hakyeon said. He shrugged, regarding Taekwoon with a curious look in his eyes. "My hand was forced."

In the half-haze between unconsciousness and true consciousness, things slotted into place with alarming accuracy. Both of Hakyeon's lackeys were standing by. One closer to him, one closer to Jaehwan.

"The weapons deal," Taekwoon said. He'd just finished negotiating it a few weeks ago. Of course Hakyeon would've known. "You needed a bargaining chip."

"You're smarter than you look after all," Hakyeon said. His smile was mocking. "But yes, you didn't really think we'd just watch you take that all for yourself, did you?"

"The deal is mine," Taekwoon said. "Without me, it's off."

"Which is why I wanted you alive," Hakyeon said. He shrugged. "The thing about a family business is that the stronger the blood ties, the more of a weakness they are. Truthfully, any of your sisters would've done but you were more… available."

"You mean you were fucking him," Hongbin spat.

"Hongbin!" Wonsik gestured at Hongbin in warning, before Hakyeon could say a word.

"Not very well heeled," Taekwoon commented softly. Hakyeon's eyes turned dangerous, but Taekwoon let it wash over him. Consciousness was truly beginning to elude him. 

Hakyeon shrugged, tossing a look over his shoulder towards Hongbin that had him swallowing. 

"You underestimate me," Hakyeon said. Yes, Taekwoon thought to himself bitterly. He had. He kept this to himself. "Even if you keep the deal, if we get something else out of it, we'll let you go. I wonder, what's a fair trade for an only son?"

"You twisted bastard," Taekwoon snarled. His body was heavy. His eyes were heavy. Jaehwan was still unconscious.

"I don't make the rules," Hakyeon said, voice pleasant. "I'm just playing by them."

"Boss," Wonsik said very close to Taekwoon. "I think he's out. Should I wake him?"

Hakyeon must've made some sort of gesture, because Wonsik stepped away, taking his presence with him. Three set of footsteps retreated. Words clawed at Taekwoon's throat.

"Don't… Don't touch Jaehwan," he managed, before the dark veil of nothingness overtook him again.


	3. Chapter 3

"Boss. Boss! Hyung? Taekwoonie!"

Jaehwan was _obnoxious_. Taekwoon was uncomfortable, like he'd spent the night sleeping curled up under the desk again. Disrespectful. That's what Jaehwan was. Nothing like those two that Hakyeon had.

Hakyeon.

Taekwoon swallowed a groan as he sat up, grimacing when his head twinged in protest. It was better—he wasn't swimming in nausea. The cold of the concrete was seeping into his bones. Jaehwan was awake. That was good. It was darker than it had been—the only light was from the lightbulb. They needed better lighting in here. So it was night. His hands were slightly numb, his wrists definitely bruised.

Jaehwan was awake, and had arranged himself upright, his legs pulled to his chest, hunched over so his chin rested on his knees. There didn't seem to be enough room for him to do much else. Taekwoon had folded his legs up in front of him in an unconscious gesture, as if protecting his chest.

He had to squint at Jaehwan, waiting for his vision to come back into focus. Jaehwan certainly looked worse for the wear, and he was also spitting anger. 

"Shut up," Taekwoon said. Instinct. Jaehwan drew back a little, and Taekwoon shook his head in a single small motion, mostly to himself. "When they come, shut up. Not a word. Let me do the talking."

"You? Talk?" Jaehwan said, as if he were cracking a joke. Taekwoon glared at him, and Jaehwan quickly subsided. Underneath the anger was fear. Too much fear. Guilt was gnawing at Taekwoon now. Unwarranted guilt. Jaehwan had gotten himself involved. 

_I'll figure something out_ , Taekwoon thought of saying. _I'll handle it,_ or _shut up and watch_. Not scary enough. 

Taekwoon wanted to slam his head back against the wall in frustration, but quickly thought better of it. The throbbing was starting to subside. Looking down, there was a thin line of blood smeared down his chest, but other than a prickling ache, it was too shallow to be much of a bother. Jaehwan though—Jaehwan had been worked over. His breaths were coming shallow and shaky, and Taekwoon wouldn't have been surprised if his ribs had been cracked. It only fueled his own anger.

Or something comforting. He could say something comforting.

Taekwoon was not good at comforting.

They would come by soon enough, he was sure of it. He wouldn't be surprised if they'd set up a fucking baby monitor or something in the room. Or a camera. Maybe a camera.

"It's about the weapons deal," Taekwoon said quickly. Better to catch him up before they came. Jaehwan perked up, eyes fixed on Taekwoon. "They're… not happy."

"But it's personal," Jaehwan said, frowning. 

"They want to go straight to the Head. Get him to… trade something for me." The words left a bad taste in his mouth. Guilt. Realisation came slow to Jaehwan, and then abrupt. Lightbulb—the phrase came to Taekwoon and then left just as quickly. 

"And if your father doesn't?" Jaehwan frowned. "Then what?"

"I'd rather he didn't," Taekwoon said. His heart thudded in his chest, his words were barely audible. He couldn't tell if Jaehwan had heard, couldn't know what his frown meant. 

As if signalled—and perhaps they had—the door opened. The hallway was still better lit than the room, and it was with deja-vu that Taekwoon squinted against the sudden burst of light. Jaehwan, with his back towards the light, didn't have that problem. It would mean that he'd catch Taekwoon's warning look just fine.

There were only two sets of footsteps. One was familiar. The other less so.

Hakyeon. Hongbin. No Wonsik.

At least, Taekwoon thought to himself as two very tall shadows came to loom over him, there was also no Sanghyuk.

"You'll be interested to know we've sent a message to your father," Hakyeon said without preamble. 

It rankled at Taekwoon that Hakyeon was referring to the Head of the family as his father—the utter disrespect needled at his skin, but he had other fights to pick. 

There was little Taekwoon could say to that.

"No? Not interested? He hasn't replied yet, maybe you'll be more interested when he does," Hakyeon said softly. He crouched down, suddenly at eye level with Taekwoon. His hair was swept up and he looked impeccably put together, a definite contrast from Taekwoon with his torn shirt and ripped jeans and probably bruised face. Not very high-ranking mafia like. There was a sharp look in Hakyeon's eyes, and Taekwoon was struck with a sudden desire to fist his hands in the lapels of Hakyeon's suit, to kiss that fucking collected look off his face, to have Hakyeon gasping beneath him, rutting up against him, falling apart under Taekwoon's touches. A bygone era—that was over. There was probably some rulebook somewhere: don't fuck your enemies. Especially not the ones that nearly killed you. Or really, common sense. Fuck. 

Taekwoon dragged his attention back to the present situation, instead of the panicked hysteria he didn't even know he was capable of. Hongbin was standing two or three paces behind Hakyeon, and there was a hatred and anger in his eyes that went far beyond grudging dislike. He couldn't imagine why—he didn't recall doing anything to Hongbin personally. Other than fuck his boss.

Jaehwan, miraculously, was still silent. 

Taekwoon was silent too. Waiting. 

Hakyeon clicked his tongue and glanced over his shoulder. Hongbin's expression turned quizzical, and Taekwoon had a bad feeling. A worse feeling.

"But maybe we don't need a response," Hakyeon said. He was looking at Taekwoon again, and Taekwoon met his eyes steadily. "All we need is leverage, and I'm starting to think we have all the leverage we need."

"You— _fuck you_!"

Jaehwan surged forward, crashing against metal—Hongbin jumped, but Hakyeon didn't take his eyes off of Taekwoon.

"Jaehwan!" Taekwoon snapped, and realised a split moment later what Jaehwan had grasped the moment the words had left Hakyeon's mouth.

"Yes," Hakyeon said. "'Jaehwan' is right. You'll be our middle man of sorts, I'll even let you keep, hm, twenty percent of the shipment? That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

"It won't go through if they're going to you," Taekwoon said, grasping at a calmness he couldn't quite feel. "They have as much affection for you as we do."

"Ah, but if you're any indication, I'd say that's... quite a lot, no?" Hakyeon's eyebrows lifted, and then his eyes moved pointedly downwards. If Taekwoon hadn't already had his legs drawn to his chest, he would've pulled them up to protect his crotch from Hakyeon's gaze, where it was undoubtedly being directed.

"He just likes you for your dick, fucker," Jaehwan yelled. He _growled_ when Hongbin kicked the metal bars of the cage, but if it meant Jaehwan couldn't get to Hongbin, Hongbin also couldn't get to Jaehwan. 

"Why didn't we gag him again?" Hongbin asked, scowling down at Jaehwan.

"Because Taekwoon here would be glad if we shut up his pretty mouth, wouldn't you?" Hakyeon asked, tipping up Taekwoon's chin, fingers firm on his jaw. "No, I like seeing how that pretty mouth of his will get him in trouble with his boss. Amusing, no?"

"Fuck _off_." Jaehwan slammed his shoulder against the door, as if he had any hope of breaking it open. 

"Amusing. Right." Hongbin looked down at him. 

"Jaehwan. Shut. Up." Taekwoon closed his eyes and wondered that he had to pray for patience with Jaehwan in a situation like this, but maybe it was just the part of him clinging to calmness and sanity.

"I'm impressed you got him to do your work for you for, what's it been, the past two years now?" Hakyeon asked. He pushed aside Taekwoon's shirt, pressing down on his shoulder where a bullet had embedded itself two years ago, hard enough to bruise. Taekwoon sucked in a sharp breath, not expecting the burst of pain. "Kept up your reputation for you?"

"They won't—they won't honour the deal if it's going to you," Taekwoon said, gritting his teeth. Hakyeon finally let go of his jaw, sitting back on his heels.

"Well, you'll just have to make sure they don't know," Hakyeon said. "Or else..."

He looked behind him again tellingly. Jaehwan visibly flinched at the look.

"You think he'll trade anything for this piece of shit?" Hongbin asked. "He'll just run."

"Just because I wouldn't, doesn't mean he won't," Hakyeon said. 

"Weak," Hongbin scoffed. The look of dismissal he shot Taekwoon's way set his teeth on edge, but he hadn't gotten to where he had been by not being able to endure a few snide remarks. 

"No," Hakyeon said, finally standing. "Caring for your subordinates isn't a weakness. But not being able to prioritise is."

"Boss?"

"Unpaid debts," Hakyeon said, nodding towards Jaehwan.

The look that spread across Hongbin's face was eerily shark-like. He spun the gun between his fingers, a feat given how small his hands were. An odd detail for Taekwoon to notice right now, but it was that, or the way Jaehwan had suddenly thrown himself as far back as he could, his eyes wide as they went towards Taekwoon, apparently scared into silence.

"No, Hakyeon, _Hakyeon_!" Taekwoon lurched forward, reminiscent of a few hours ago, or however long it'd last been. It was starting to feel like eternity. "Damn it, don't fucking _touch_ him!"

Hakyeon shrugged, looking down at Taekwoon. "You, instead?"

Taekwoon bit down on his lip, but didn't say no. He, at least, had the assurance that he'd be left alive and mostly unharmed. They needed him for that.

Hakyeon gave a single sharp nod at Hongbin, who'd still had his gun pointed unwaveringly at Jaehwan. He flipped it up now as he walked towards Taekwoon. Hakyeon took several steps back, Hongbin taking his place. 

"You might not want to move, Hongbin's not the greatest marksman," Hakyeon commented drily. "Outside of video games."

Hongbin rolled his eyes, probably because Hakyeon couldn't see. He was firmly filling Taekwoon's view now as he crouched down next to him. His hair was styled similarly to Hakyeon's. Taekwoon couldn't stop himself from glancing at Hongbin's gun, a split second, long enough for Hongbin to notice.

"You brought this on yourself," Hongbin said, leaning close. "For getting him in trouble because you couldn't keep it in your own fucking pants."

Taekwoon, despite himself, barked out a laugh. So that was it. "Mad I fucked your boss when you can't?"

He probably deserved the punch to the gut. He didn't regret it.

The cold touch of metal against his right hand was jarring to his consciousness, even through the breathlessness that Hongbin's punch had brought. He jerked instinctively, but was brought short by the bonds about his wrist.

"Get on with it," Taekwoon said. He looked up to meet Hakyeon's eyes, Hakyeon looking down at him dispassionately.

"I don't mind if you move," Hongbin said. And fired. 

" _Nngh!_ " The sharp crack of gunfire was dulled by his own bitten back yelp, by the delayed burn in his hand. The sound of a bullet clattering against concrete.

Hakyeon hummed softly. "Not bad," he said. "Barely a sound."

"Should I shoot the other?" Hongbin asked. Taekwoon clenched his other fist, digging his nails into his palm, as if trying to match the pain embedded into his other, distracting him from the fucking bullet hole going through his hand.

"No, I think it's fitting if we match," Hakyeon said. He held out his hand—left—and Hongbin stood and wordlessly handed the gun to Hakyeon, handle first. A jerk of Hakyeon's head was enough to send Hongbin obediently out the door.

"Proved a point?" Taekwoon asked softly. _Fuck_ it hurt. He'd forgotten how much being shot hurt. Or maybe last time it'd been accompanied by an all encompassing sort of numbness. 

Hakyeon laughed, walking towards Taekwoon again. He nudged apart Taekwoon's legs, Taekwoon too wrapped up in not letting his pain show to stop him.

"I think we were interrupted earlier," Hakyeon said. He leaned against the wall above Taekwoon, shadow cast on top of him. Hakyeon stepped lightly down on Taekwoon's crotch—he swallowed a muffled curse, his eyes squeezing shut.

"I really didn't want to do this," Hakyeon said, and there was a mournful quality in his tone that Taekwoon _might_ have believed if he wasn't grinding down harder on Taekwoon's crotch. "But you did get me into a bit of trouble when the Head found out—not that Hongbin should've gone around telling you that."

Blood was oozing from his hand, dripping down his fingers. He tried curling his fingers, not even sure if he could—could or couldn't he couldn't tell, could tell it fucking _hurt_.

Hakyeon dropped back to a crouch, tipping Taekwoon's chin up with the barrel of the gun. The pressure on Taekwoon's crotch disappeared, and he nearly groaned in relief.

"How sure are you I won't shoot?" Hakyeon asked.

"Very," Taekwoon ground out. The pressure on his windpipe was irritatingly familiar in a way that sent heat pooling below his legs. He really didn't need this right now.

Hakyeon laughed, and it was a delighted laugh, jarringly out of place in this grungy, dimly lit basement. 

"You're not wrong," Hakyeon said. The gun disappeared from underneath his jaw, and suddenly Hakyeon's mouth was on his. Taekwoon moaned into the heat of Hakyeon's mouth, moans only growing louder when Hakyeon's hand found its way to his pants. 

"You really are sure," Hakyeon said. His words were hot in Taekwoon's mouth. Taekwoon squirmed, hips bucking upwards almost instinctively into Hakyeon's caresses. 

"Fuck you," Taekwoon breathed out.

"I could fuck you right here, right in front of your subordinate, and there's nothing you could do to stop me," Hakyeon said. He'd pulled back enough so he could watch Taekwoon's every expression, his words predatory. Hakyeon's hand was gone—as sure as Taekwoon was logically Hakyeon wouldn't pull the trigger, it didn't stop him from tensing in instinctive horror when he realised it was a fucking _gun_ pressing against his fucking cock. Taekwoon lashed out, enjoying a moment of self satisfaction when Hakyeon went flying back from a good boot in the chest. It lasted as long as it took for Hakyeon to get back to his feet, backhanding Taekwoon with the gun. The ringing in Taekwoon's ears was almost as bad as the impact itself, and Taekwoon grunted when Hakyeon followed it with a fist driven viciously against his chest.

"Or I could fuck you with this," Hakyeon hissed into Taekwoon's ear. Taekwoon squirmed, but Hakyeon had enough of a grip on his hair that there wasn't enough room to pull away. A trickle of something hot and wet and that wasn't sweat slid down the side of Taekwoon's cheek. Hakyeon dragged a finger down Taekwoon's cheek, painting down his jawline, and it came away red. 

"You had them watching," Taekwoon blurted out. 

"Hm?" Hakyeon licked at his own fingers, sucking them clean of Taekwoon's blood. A bit of his own blood was soaking through the bandage on his hand. Taekwoon tried not to think how Hakyeon's tongue looked when it was lapping at his cock. 

"Watching," Taekwoon repeated. "Waiting."

"Oh, them?" Hakyeon shrugged dismissively. He'd put the gun down, Taekwoon noticed. He was also on top of Taekwoon's legs, hindering a repeat performance.

"Waiting, yes. Watching? No. I wanted one last bit of fun, but looks like we were deprived of that," Hakyeon said. "Lucky we can make it up now."

"You're a fucker, you know that?" Jaehwan had finally regained his voice. Taekwoon kind of really wished he hadn't.

Hakyeon laughed again, but this time it was mocking, derisive. 

"I think I'll have fun with him," Hakyeon said. He undid Taekwoon's jeans with one hand far too deftly, taking Taekwoon's cock into his hand. Taekwoon's cock twitched at the touch—he drew his attention to his own hand, the one with a fucking bullet hole in it, anything but the slow strokes Hakyeon was giving his cock.

"While you're off taking your sweet time, working out how you'll be diverting that weapons deal to me, I'll be fucking him the way you wish I was fucking you right now," Hakyeon said. Taekwoon swallowed, his eyes screwed shut. It only made it worse, the pain from his hand and his head and the heat from his cock all blending into one horrible tangled sensation that had him panting, head thrown back, hips bucking up into Hakyeon's hand.

"Fucking _asshole_ ," Jaehwan yelled. Taekwoon tried to ignore him, ignore his voice bouncing about his skull.

"Ever seen your boss come like this before?" Hakyeon's voice echoed nebulously in all directions, his words vague and hazy through the rough strokes he was pumping Taekwoon's cock with now. "Pity, if you hadn't shot my hand, I'd have one free to fuck his mouth with a gun while we're all here. Wouldn't you have liked to see that?"

"Fuck you, _fuck you_ ," Jaehwan swore.

"Eloquent, isn't he," Hakyeon said, very close to Taekwoon's ear. Taekwoon jumped, head banging back against the wall with too much force. Stars exploded in his vision in time to Hakyeon's teeth finding the crook of his neck, sinking viciously into soft skin and flesh.

He came with a ragged scream tearing its way through his throat. He felt gross, used, even as Hakyeon was catching his muffled sounds with his mouth, his teeth nipping hard at Taekwoon's lips. 

"Look at you, crying in front of your subordinate," Hakyeon said. He ran a thumb along Taekwoon's cheek, the callouses catching on tears that had welled up unbidden.

"Fuck you," Jaehwan said again, only it was weaker now. 

Hakyeon wiped his hand on Taekwoon's pants before standing, leaving Taekwoon slumped against the wall, wrung out and spent. He pulled his legs to his chest again, a weak motion. There'd always been a push and pull with Hakyeon, something dirty, forced, never quite right—lose even if you won, win even if you lose. This was Taekwoon losing and losing. (Hakyeon losing and losing, winning in all the wrong ways.)

"You still owe me a good fuck," Hakyeon said conversationally, turning to go. "But it'll have to wait."

"Hey! Are you just going to leave him like that? You fucking shot his hand!" Jaehwan yelled at Hakyeon, just as he made it to the door.

"He won't die," Hakyeon said.

The door locked shut behind Hakyeon, taking with it the light from the hallway, leaving the two of them in the dimness. Taekwoon barely caught Jaehwan's eyes for a second before Jaehwan looked away.

"Shit. Hyung, I'm... Fuck. I'm sorry."

"I've had worse," Taekwoon said wryly. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. He tried to get some feeling into his left hand, but couldn't do it without painfully jarring his right.

"Least he didn't try to kill you this time," Jaehwan said, weakly trying for a laugh. "I mean, I think I'd know what that's like. Since I was the one who cleaned up your mess and all."

Taekwoon felt the corner of his mouth twitch despite himself. 

"That was a _lot_ of blood," Jaehwan continued, rambling now. "So much blood. I don't even see any blood, from here at least. It's bleeding, right? But you can't bleed out from a hand, so..."

Jaehwan trailed off before Taekwoon had time to tell him to shut up. 

"Hey, Boss?"

"Mm?"

"So... What now?"

Ah. Yes. What now. Taekwoon breathed out deeply, steadying his breaths, or as much as he could. 

"It'll be alright, right?" Jaehwan asked.

"You're a disgrace to the family," Taekwoon mumbled without opening his eyes. He could almost see the wounded look in Jaehwan's eyes. 

"Sorry hyung," Jaehwan said softly. "I didn't mean to become... leverage. He's right though, about prioritising. Between me and the family, it... It shouldn't be me?"

"Jaehwan," Taekwoon said sharply. _Shut up_ was left unsaid.

The silence that answered was almost worse than if Jaehwan had continued talking. But silence was good for thinking. Thinking how to answer the 'what now'.


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened quietly. Taekwoon cracked open an eye at the sound, unsure when he'd dozed off. No light flooded through, and there was only one set of footsteps. He struggled to sit up a little straighter, trying to place if it was Hakyeon, or someone else.

He wasn't expecting _which_ someone else.

"Sanghyuk?" Taekwoon mouthed the word, eyes gone wide. He couldn't be sure he wasn't still out, that his mind was conjuring up Sanghyuk's broad shouldered silhouette. "How are you here?"

"I drove, duh," Sanghyuk said. He'd closed the door just as quietly behind him before he rushed to Taekwoon. 

His eyes flickered over Taekwoon's front, but he didn't say anything, just crouched down, pulling something from his pocket.

"Why do you have a wirecutter?" Taekwoon asked. It was a dumb question, and he knew it the moment it left his mouth. His head felt fuzzy, like this wasn't real. Which part wasn't real—he couldn't tell. 

"Always be prepared, boy scouts motto or something," Sanghyuk muttered. "I came to get you, of course I came prepared."

Taekwoon leaned forward, letting Sanghyuk feel for his wrists.

"Why don't you look the part," Taekwoon said, suddenly noticing Sanghyuk's casual attire.

"What?"

"You're not wearing a suit," Taekwoon said. Jaehwan wasn't either. No wonder they didn't look menacing. Or bow.

"Neither are you, and it's my off day," Sanghyuk muttered. He swore quietly under his breath as he cut Taekwoon free, and Taekwoon could finally ease the pressure on his arms, bringing his hands to flop down beside him.

"I'm gonna kill them," Sanghyuk said, staring down at Taekwoon's hand. Taekwoon looked down too—it looked bad. The bleeding was slow, sluggish.

"Get Jaehwan," Taekwoon said. Sanghyuk glanced behind him, and when he looked back at Taekwoon, his brows were heavily creased.

"What'd they do to him?" he asked. He did up Taekwoon's pants without a word, and then pulled Taekwoon's hand closer to him, fingers gentle around Taekwoon's wrist.

"Knocked him out a few times, I think," Taekwoon said. He winced when Sanghyuk's fingers probed a little too close. 

"Get Jaehwan," Taekwoon said again.

"I hope you're not too attached to your shirt, but it's ruined anyway," Sanghyuk said, speaking over Taekwon. He tugged at it, got Taekwoon to pull his arm free so he could cut off a length of his sleeve. It hurt when he used it to bandage Taekwoon's hand, enough that Taekwoon hissed with the pain, but it was better than having it drip blood everywhere, he supposed.

"Jaehwan—"

"You come first, boss," Sanghyuk said. "Ransom notes aren't the same these days, what happened to severed fingers? Can you stand? They really shouldn't send minions to do these things, it was too easy to intercept that message—shit, you okay?"

Taekwoon stumbled the moment Sanghyuk let go of him after helping him up. He was rambling, Taekwoon realised. It was almost cute, if it wasn't a sign of how shaken Sanghyuk was by this entire thing. He shook Sanghyuk off, and nodded to Jaehwan. He was either unconscious or asleep, if there was a difference, slumped against the metal bars. 

"We're not going without him," Taekwoon said.

Sanghyuk gave Taekwoon a worried look, but he jogged the few steps to Jaehwan, dropping down next to him.

"Hyung, hey, hyung!" The spaces between the bars wasn't big enough for Sanghyuk to reach a hand through. There was barely enough space for him to prod at Jaehwan at all. Taekwoon felt his breath catch as he made his slower way over—it was with too much relief that he let out that breath when Jaehwan stirred. The way Sanghyuk's face melted with relief though—Taekwoon bit at his lip. He'd fucked up so bad.

"Hyukkie?" Jaehwan lifted his head slowly, and then sat up so fast he slammed his head against the bars.

"Shit, calm down hyung, give me your hands," Sanghyuk said.

"How'd you get here?" Jaehwan asked, shuffling over so Sanghyuk could get at his bonds. "How'd you know?"

"I have two idiot hyungs, of course I keep tags on both of you. Next time, don't tell the enemy where I bugged our boss," Sanghyuk grumbled. "Now let's get—"

"There's a lock," Taekwoon said. Sanghyuk stared at the padlock, stared at the small tool in his hand, and then at Taekwoon.

"I can't do it," Sanghyuk said, voice dropping. He swallowed, looking back at Jaehwan. The look in Sanghyuk's eyes would break anyone's heart, mafia or no. There was so much _fear_ there, that Sanghyuk would have to force Taekwoon to leave Jaehwan behind after all. Some part of Taekwoon knew that it's what they should do. It was what Hakyeon would've done with Hongbin, and what Hongbin had expected from him. Clearly, Sanghyuk had too.

"Jaehwan can," Taekwoon said curtly. Jaehwan met Taekwoon's eyes with a start, and then grinned.

"C'mon Hyukkie, I learned _some_ stuff on the streets before boss picked me up," Jaehwan said, crawling onto his knees. He rummaged in his pockets, grinning triumphantly when he came up with something thin and metal.

"Hurry, we don't have much time," Sanghyuk said. 

"Don't rush me," Jaehwan said, half under his breath, face scrunched in concentration. "Just take boss and go first."

"No," Taekwoon said stubbornly. He glanced towards the door. "Where is this? What's the situation?"

"Nowhere major, ran into two goons by the door, someone else coming down who actually put up a bit of a fight," Sanghyuk said. He was fidgeting a little, eyes flicking between Jaehwan and Taekwoon and the door.

"What did he look like?"

"Uh, pretty in an alien way? Like a robot?" Sanghyuk said. He screwed up his face when Taekwoon couldn't hide a snort of a laugh. "I was trying to knock him out, not ogle him!"

"That leaves Hakyeon and the other one," Taekwoon said.

"Wonsik," Jaehwan supplied. "More of a watcher than a doer." His fingers were shaking, and he dropped the pick, clattering to the ground. He swore as he reached for it, but it was too far away—Sanghyuk hurriedly handed it back to him.

Taekwoon could tell Sanghyuk was on the verge of urging him on again, when the lock finally opened with a click. Sanghyuk yanked the door open, almost dragging Jaehwan out to rub feeling back into his arms and legs. Jaehwan slumped against him, breathing heavily. 

"Can you stand?" Sanghyuk asked, helping Jaehwan up. He'd put the barest amount of weight on his leg before he yelped, covering his mouth at the same time his leg buckled under him.

"It'll be faster to carry him," Taekwoon said. Sanghyuk nodded, and Jaehwan thankfully didn't protest, just let Sanghyuk heft him onto his back like a kid, wrapping his arms firmly around Sanghyuk's neck. 

"Gimme a gun," Jaehwan said. Sanghyuk did, and then handed something else to Taekwoon. Taekwoon flipped the knife open and smiled.

"Don't hurt yourself," Sanghyuk said. Taekwoon narrowed his eyes at Sanghyuk who just shrugged, unperturbed. "I wish I was ambidextrous."

"Let's go," Taekwoon said, sheathing the blade. 

It was eerily quiet as they left the room, and even if it'd only been a few hours, Taekwoon felt like he was escaping after an eternity. They made their way up the stairs, slower than they would've liked with Jaehwan clutching at Sanghyuk's back and Taekwoon trailing behind. Sanghyuk pointed out the closet where he'd left Hongbin bound and gagged, and Taekwoon briefly—very briefly—thought of going in and giving him hell, but revenge would have to wait.

Their good luck barely lasted until they were off the stairs. The crack of a gunshot barely preceded the bullet that embedded itself somewhere in the wall. Taekwoon swore, and Sanghyuk dropped Jaehwan as gently as he could, ripping his own gun out of his holster.

"So which one of you is Hakyeon?" Sanghyuk asked. It'd been Wonsik who had fired; he still had his gun out, pointed towards them. Hakyeon's was loose in his left hand. He was right handed. 

"That'll be me," Hakyeon said, stepping forward.

"Oh, not bad. I can see why boss might want to fuck you," Sanghyuk said a little too cheerily. There was a dangerous edge to his voice, though, and Taekwoon felt his heart swell a little with approval. Hakyeon smiled back, all steel and teeth. 

"Where's Hongbin?" Wonsik walked closer, gun trained on Sanghyuk. 

"Not so close," Hakyeon murmured in warning, quiet enough that Taekwoon only barely heard. So he wasn't entirely unmindful of Taekwoon, after all. 

"He's not dead, if that's what you're wondering," Sanghyuk said. "Seemed a bit of a waste to kill him."

"There's still two of us and one of you," Wonsik said. 

"Actually _three_ of us," Sanghyuk said. "But hey, maybe they weren't teaching how to count in kindergarten back in those days, old man."

"Old—"

"Wonsik!" Hakyeon cut off Wonsik's indignant outburst. Wonsik bit at his lip and shut up.

"Let's see," Hakyeon said, gesturing with his gun at first Jaehwan and then Taekwoon. "One can't even walk, one has a hole in his hand, and… there's you."

"You have a hole in your hand too, you fucker," Jaehwan snapped. He was leaning against the wall, but sitting up again.

"Yes, you would know," Hakyeon said.

"You bet I do, and I'll put one in your other too," Jaehwan said.

"Stop talking," Taekwoon said to the room at large. 

Sanghyuk glanced at him, and suddenly grinned, cheerful and boyish. "Roger that, boss," he said, right before he pulled the trigger.

Chaos exploded. Taekwoon threw himself forward, flipping the blade open as he lunged for Hakyeon. Hakyeon was already stumbling from Sanghyuk's shot that had caught him in the side, and he barely avoided Taekwoon's initial slash. Wonsik had crumpled to the ground, courtesy of two of Jaehwan's well placed bullets. Sanghyuk followed it up, slamming a knee into Wonsik's chest. It gave Taekwoon a clear window to Hakyeon, knocking them both to the ground.

"Don't underestimate me," Taekwoon hissed, just before he stabbed the knife into Hakyeon's shoulder.

Hakyeon let out a guttural scream before he caught himself, his eyes squeezing shut for a moment as his head fell back, breathing hard. Taekwoon twisted the knife, watching as Hakyeon's face contorted in pain. It was the same shoulder that Hakyeon had all but shattered on him.

"The saying's _don't bring a gun to a knife fight_ ," Taekwoon said. 

"Actually I think it's both, but _let's go_." Sanghyuk had quickly bound Wonsik's wrists behind his back with his own tie, and had knocked him unconscious at some point.

"I guess we'll call this a draw," Hakyeon said.

"No, I win." Taekwoon dug his knife in a little deeper, and was rewarded with a clear wince. On a whim, he bent down, catching Hakyeon in a rough, messy kiss. Hakyeon gasped into his mouth, small sounds and whimpers and _fuck_ Taekwoon was going to miss this.

He pulled back and they were both breathing heavily—possibly because Hakyeon still had a knife in his shoulder.

"Shit hyung, now's not the time," Sanghyuk said. He grabbed Taekwoon, nearly throwing him towards Jaehwan, taking Taekwoon's place pinning Hakyeon down. 

"What are you—"

"I'm not killing your loverboy, just get out of here while I tie this fucker up," Sanghyuk growled. He wrenched the knife from Hakyeon's shoulder with a sickening sound, sliding it across the floor towards Taekwoon. 

Taekwoon picked it up and stood, a little wide-eyed as he watched Sanghyuk manhandle Hakyeon onto his front, deftly immobilising him like he'd done with Wonsik. There was a strange feeling in his gut, one that lasted even as he dragged a dazed Jaehwan up with his good hand, knife still covered in Hakyeon's blood stuffed into his pocket.

"C'mon, before someone calls the police," Sanghyuk said, scooping Jaehwan up and slinging him over his shoulder. Jaehwan cried out, the motion jarring bruised or broken bones. 

"He needs to get to a doctor," Taekwoon said, following Sanghyuk out.

"Both of you do," Sanghyuk said, opening the door.

Taekwoon couldn't help himself but glance over his shoulder. Hakyeon had rolled over onto his side. He met Taekwoon's eye and mouthed something. Taekwoon had never been a great lip reader, but as he slammed the door shut, he was pretty sure that what Hakyeon had said was _you owe me_.

Somehow, Taekwoon was sure this game of theirs wasn't over yet. But maybe the rules had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap, thanks for playing! sorry for the potential lack of continuity between parts orz


End file.
